A/N: Well, the inevitable finally happened. I joined tumblr. Should any of you have an account and wish to follow me, I will be happy to give you my blog address in a personal message; drop me a line and let me know! Please be advised that I shall be following you in return. Because we should all be buddies in fandomness.

I do not own FMA.

Twenty-five - "So I'm crying"

It was totally silent, and dark. At first, he wasn't even aware that he was lying on his side. There was just pressure on his left arm, and his elbow was digging into his own ribs. His hip felt like it was being ground onto a blunt rock, and somebody was sprinkling water on his face.

His hearing began to return as consciousness seeped in. He was, in fact, lying on his side, and a hand was gripping the material of his right sleeve. Another hand, shaking, was stroking his hair.

". . . . not like this . . . not ever . . . . Colonel, please, you can't be . . . . Open your eyes, come on . . . ." Silence, for all of two heartbeats. "Dammit, Roy, I said WAKE — UP!"

A solid fist connected with his arm, bony knuckles digging into the tissue. Involuntarily, Roy felt his eyes pop open in the same instant as he yelled "OW!"

Rolling onto his back, left hand rubbing at the offended spot, he glared at Riza. "What was that for?!"

Her eyes were wide; one hand was half-raised defensively in front of her, the other braced against the ground. His outburst had apparently caught her by surprise. "I . . . I'm sorry, sir. I was . . . you were unconscious, I was trying to wake you."

Unconscious . . . why had he been unconscious? Oh . . . .

Sitting up, Roy looked around for the car. It was sitting twenty feet away, a tangled mass of totalled engine, burst tires, and crumpled frame. Rain - what he'd felt on his face earlier - was collecting in an impressive set of dings and dents in the metal.

He looked back to Riza . . . and paused. When she punched him, she'd used his given name. In public. That only ever meant one thing: she was upset enough to lose track of their personal rules for addressing each other. And with the expression she currently wore . . . . "Lieutenant, are you all right?"

Dropping her hand hastily away from her face, knowing full well she'd been caught in the act of wiping her eyes, Riza's usual mask of perfect composure asserted itself. "Just fine, sir. You should be more worried about yourself."

"Liar." Shifting position, he faced her. "You were crying."

She looked him in the eye, not missing a beat. "It's raining."

Roy had to admit, that she was quick on her mental feet. To be able to remember that excuse and throw it back at him, while it was actually raining, nonetheless . . . . But that didn't matter. He didn't plan on letting her away with it.

"Very observant of you, Lieutenant. However, that's not going to fly this time." Reaching out, he swiped a fingertip against one of the tracks of moisture on her face. Some were rain, sure, but he knew others to be more than that. "Tell me — if I put this in my mouth right now, I would taste salt, wouldn't I?"

She didn't answer, merely turned her gaze away toward the wrecked car.

"What were you crying for, Riza?"

"All right!" Brown eyes swung back to him, angry now. "So I was crying. In case you didn't notice, Colonel, I had to drag you out of that car. You weren't moving, you were barely breathing, and your —" Her voice caught, and she swallowed hard. "Your pulse was . . . was hard to find. I thought you must have hit your head in the collision."

"You thought you'd lost me," Roy mused, studying her almost curiously. "Scary feeling."

She nodded once. "Terrifying."

Roy got to his feet, offering a hand to help her do the same. She accepted, and he pulled her up, continuing the motion to draw her close. His free arm rose to her shoulders in a hug. "Don't worry; I'm not going anywhere yet. There's still a lot to do, and I'll still need help."

Her hand squeezed his.

PS - Am I the only one who couldn't watch Falman cry? I just . . . I just couldn't. He was so . . . . I just wanted to grab him and give him the biggest hug possible. Though that might break his skinny little spine; seriously, the dude is a toothpick.